A semiconductor light emitting device such as a laser diode (LD) and light emitting diode (LED) is fabricated by, for instance, crystal growth of nitride semiconductor layers on a substrate made of e.g. sapphire or SiC.
In a semiconductor light emitting device, to achieve high light emission efficiency and high reliability, it is desired to improve heat dissipation. There is a configuration in which a grown nitride semiconductor layer is bonded to a substrate having higher heat dissipation than the growth substrate, which is then removed. In this removal step, the nitride semiconductor layer is prone to cracking and peeling.